Hand-operated dispenser for applying adhesive tape

ABSTRACT

A hand-operated dispenser for applying adhesive tape comprising a roughly T- shaped casing, the vertical bar of the &#34;T&#34; forming a hand grip, a bearing for rotatably supporting a roll of adhesive tape arranged in the area of one face of the cross piece of the &#34;T&#34;, the other face of the T-shaped cross piece being adapted to be passed over the article to be taped, a cutting edge located in this face of the cross piece and next to this on the feed side of the tape a sliding member, which with its lower end projects beyond the casing for changing the direction of the tape and pressing it on the article to be taped, means for guiding the sliding member in the casing so that it can assume two positions in such a manner that the portion of the tape lying in the cutting area in one position of the sliding member is higher than the cutting edge, means for locking the sliding member in its lower position, manually operated release means for unlocking the sliding member.

May 28, 1974 H. H. WEICK E'TAL HAND-OPERATED DISPENSER FOR APPLYING ADHESIVE TAPE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 21, 1972 May 28, 1974 H. H. WEICK ETA!- HAND-OPERATED DISPENSER FOR APPLYING ADHESIVE TAPE 4 She etS-Sheet 2 Filed April 21, 1972 May 28, 1974 H. H. WEICK ETAL HAND-OPERATED DISPENSER FOR APPLYING ADHESIVE TAPE Filed April 21, 1972 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 y 28,1974 H.H. WEICK mu. I 3,813,275

HAND-OPERATED DISPENSER FOR APPLYING ADHESIVE TAPE Filed April 21, 1972 4 Sheet s-Sheet 4 United States Patent ()ffice 3,813,275 HAND-OPERATED DISPENSER FOR APPLYING ADHESIVE TAPE Heinz Hermann Weick, 94 Rue de la Servette, Geneva, Switzerland, and Viktor Trueb, Oberhelfenschwil, and Walter Hesener, Meyrin, Switzerland; said Trueb and said Hesener assignors to said Weick Filed Apr. 21, 1972, Ser. No. 246,312 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Apr. 28, 1971, 6,284/71; Mar. 23, 1972, 4,476/72 Int. Cl. B32b 31/18 US. Cl. 156-527 21 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hand-operated dispenser for applying adhesive tape comprising a roughly T-shaped casing, the vertical bar of the T forming a hand grip, a bearing for rotatably supporting a roll of adhesive tape arranged in the area of one face of the cross piece of the T, the other face of the T-shaped cross piece being adapted to be passed over the article to be taped, a cutting edge located in this face of the cross piece and next to this on the feed side of the tape a sliding member, which with its lower end projects beyond the casing for changing the direction of the tape and pressing it on the article to be taped, means for guiding the sliding member in the casing so that it can assume two positions in such a manner that the portion of the tape lying in the cutting area in one position of the sliding member is higher than the cutting edge, means for locking the sliding member in its lower position, manually operated release means for unlocking the sliding member.

The present invention relates to hand-operated dispensers for applying adhesive tape.

THE PRIOR ART A hand-operated dispenser for applying adhesive tape is known which has a roughly T-shaped casing in side view, the vertical bar of the T forming a hand grip. A bearing for rotatably supporting a roll of adhesive tape is arranged in the area of one face of the cross piece of the T whilst the other face of the T shaped cross piece is adapted to be passed over the article to be taped. A cutting edge is arranged in this face of the cross piece and next to this on the feed side of the tape is a tape pressing and deflecting member which with its lower end projects beyond the casing for changing the direction of the tape and pressing it on the article to be taped. This deflecting member is guided in the casing so that it can assume two positions in such a manner that the portion of the tape lying in the cutting area in one position of the deflecting member is higher than the cutting edge, and means are provided for locking the deflecting member in its lower position.

In this known device, apart from the moulded hand grip, the casing as well as most of the mechanical parts are made from metal. The net Weight of the device is correspondingly great and its manipulation is therefore tiring. In addition, the production and necessary finishing treatment of the many metallic parts is costly and the cost of manufacturing this device is thus correspondingly high. When the adhesive tape roll is inserted, the ad hesive tape must be threaded into the mechanism from above. This is troublesome because of the adhesive coating on the tape. Moreover, the device because of its mechanical construction, is considerably wider than the width of the adhesive tape itself.

3,813,275 Patented May 28, 1974 BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, we provide a hand-operated dispenser for applying adhesive tape comprising a roughly T-shaped casing, the vertical bar of the T forming a hand grip, a bearing for rotatably supporting a roll of adhesive tape arranged in the area of one face of the cross piece of the T, the other face of the T-shaped cross piece being adapted to be passed over the article to be taped, a cutting edge located in this face of the cross piece and next to this on the feed side of the tape a sliding member, which with its lower end projects beyond the casing for changing the direction of the tape and pressing it on the article to be taped, means for guiding the sliding member in the casing so that it can assume two positions in such a manner that the portion of the tape lying in the cutting area in one position of the sliding member is higher than the cutting edge, means for locking the sliding member in its lower position, manually operated release means for unlocking the sliding member, an open slot in the side of the casing and located between the root of hand grip and the sliding member in such a manner that at least in one of its two end positions the sliding member is located outside of the casing slot and the tape can be threaded in.

Thanks to the sliding member and its arrangement, the troublesome threading-in of the adhesive tape can be avoided. The adhesive tape can be easily inserted from the side. The sliding member can be easily made from thermo-plastic material by injection moulding and is ready for assembly without finishing treatment, and can be supported between the two side walls of the casing which are likewise injection moulded and ready for assembly from thermo plastic material.

According to further features of the invention, novel means are proposed for locking and unlocking the sliding member. These parts are of simple construction and are particularly characterized in that they do not in any way impede the trouble-free lateral insertion of the adhesive tape and, seen vertically to the longitudinal direction of the tape, render possible the construction of a device which is of small overall size.

'Several constructional forms of the invention are illustrated in the drawing from which further characteristics of the invention will become apparent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a side view of the dispenser with the cover plates removed;

FIG. 2 shows in side view part of the dispenser containing the sliding member which is located in its upper position;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of part of the dispenser containing the lateral entry slot for the adhesive tape and the means for eifecting the connection between the two cover plates;

- FIG. 4 shows a section taken parallel to the longitudinal axis of the hand grip through the bearing of the adhesive tape roll;

FIG. 5 shows an underside view of the dispenser shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 6 and 6a show modified means, equivalent to those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for locking and unlocking the sliding member;

FIG. 7 shows diagrammatically modified means for unlocking the locking means of the sliding member shown in FIGS. 1 and 6;

FIG. 8 shows aside view partly in section of the device with the sliding member held in its lower position; and

FIG. 9 shows diagrammatically an alternative form of the unlocking means shown in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description .first of all refers to the first constructional embodiment according to FIGS. 15.

The main body 1 of the T-shaped casing consists of a shell-shaped portion 1a forming the chamber In for the sliding member 5, preferablymade in one piece with the laterally extending portion 11) forming the hand grip and the upwardly extending bearing plate for the adhesive tape roll 2. In the lower small side 1d of the casing there are located from left to right (opposite to the direction of travel of the tape) a roller 3 adapted to press the tape against the surface to be taped, a knife 4 and a sliding member 5 having the dual function of pressing the adhesive tape against the surface to be taped and changing its direction. The lower portion of the sliding member 5 performing these functions is constructed in the form of a rotatably supported flexible roller 6. The sliding member 5 is made in one piece of a hollow body with two downwardly extending parallel ears or extensions St: for supporting roller 6. Lateral guide lips 5b on the sliding member are in sliding engagement with guide grooves 11 and 7a formed in the side wall of chamber 1a and in cover plate 7. These guide grooves are arranged at an angle so that the direction of travel of the sliding member forms an angle or with the longitudinal axis X of the hand grip. This angle is open downwardly and disposed in such a manner that on the side of the hand grip the surface of the sliding member 5c, when projected upwardly, passes approximately through the axis about which the tape roll 2 rotates. On this side of the sliding member 50, there is located a leaf spring 8, which is secured to the bottom of the sliding member with an angular arm 8a and with its free portion 8b is biased outwardly. The upwardly directed free end 8b of this spring 8 is adapted to be locked in the lower position of the sliding member with a metallic locking plate 9 which is fixedly arranged in place and serves as abutment. The end portion of the leaf spring 8 is formed with a forkshaped rearwardly extending tongue 80 which bears laterally against locking plate 9. The sliding member 5 is biased towards its lower locked position by means of a tension spring 10. In its end positions, the movement of the sliding member is arrested by rubber-elastic buffers 11a and 11b. The adhesive tape 2a unwound from tape roll 2 runs past the outside of the locking plate 9 and leaf spring 8 and then passes around roller 6 and is pressed thereby onto the surface to be taped.

The longitudinal portion 11) of the hand grip is formed with downwardly inclined guide pieces 1g and 111, which supporta longitudinally movable sliding piece 12 acting as an unlocking bolt.

The front end of piece 12 is conically reduced to form a contact edge 12a. The sliding piece 12 is formed with a recess 12b in which engages the upper arm 13a of a two-armed release level 13 which is pivoted about point 14. The lower arm 13b of this release lever carries a set screw 15 by means of which the angular movement of lever 13 can be adjusted. When the release lever is actuated, this set screw abuts against wall 11 of the hand grip. A tension spring 16 is connected to the rear end of the sliding piece 12 and pulls the latter to the right into its initial inoperative position. A cover plate 17 (FIG. 3) is used for closing the hand grip.

During application and unrolling of the adhesive tape, the sliding member 5 is located in its lower position shown in FIG. 1. The dispenser is passed over the surface to be taped with pressure rollers 3 and '6 and in this way the adhesive tape 2a is unrolled and applied. In order to sever the adhesive tape, the release level 13 is actuated so that the sliding piece 12 is moved to the left towards the leaf spring 8. The leaf spring is thus moved against the sliding member 5 and is unlocked as a result of which the sliding member 5 under the tension in the adhesive tape 2a is moved into its upper position shown in FIGJZa In this way the adhesive tape 2a comes into contact with the cutting edge of knife 4 and is severed thereby. After the tape has been severed the tension spring 10 pulls the sliding member 5 back into its lower position in which the leaf spring 8 is again engaged with the fixed locking plate 9.

Since the leading edge 12a of sliding piece 12 comes into contact with the adhesive side of tape 2a during this unlocking movement, the adhesive tape continues tostick to this edge and the free end of the tape, after the cutting operation, is thus securely held in place and held ready below roller 6 for a renewed application to another surface to be taped. I

Below the adhesive tape roll 2 there is located a blade spring 18 which is held in place at one end and with its free end makes contact with the surface of the tape roll and thus acts to brake the movement of the tape roll after the cutting action has been completed. By these means, a further safeguard is provided to prevent that the free end of the tape is pulled back into the dispenser after it has been severed. The braking action of blade spring 18 is greater when the circumference of the tape roller is larger and is gradually reduced as the diameter of the tape roll is decreased and the tape roll 2 itself loses in rotational momentum (which is proportional to its weight).

FIG. 3 shows in detail cover plates 7 and 17. Cover plate 7 closes the chamber In housing the sliding memher 5 and at the same time is made in one piece with one of the two lateral supports 70 holding the tape roll in position. The other cover plate 17 forms the longitudinally extending side of the hand grip. Between the two cover plates 7 and 17, that is above the plane of the upper edge of the hand grip, a small slot or opening 26 is formed for the introduction and threading-in of the tape. In order to provide maximum stability for the casing and in order not to place excessive strain on the joint between the shell-shaped casing 1a and the longitudinal part of hand grip 1b, the two cover plates 7 and 17 are connected with each other by a pivotal pawl 20. This pawl is mounted on a pivot 20a and is locked with its hooked end 20b with a projection 21 which is preferably formed at the reduced end of locking plate 9. For the purpose of unlocking, the hand grip with the longitudinal part 1b and the cover plate 17 are squeezed in the hand of the operator and at the same time, preferably with the thumb embracing the hand grip, the pawl 20 is swung backwards. The pawl 20 can be omitted when the main body of the casing is reinforced at the root of the hand grip by means of a Z-shaped angular metallic element 27, as shown in FIG. 5.

The advantages of this construction are obvious. Practically, all components are made from thermo-plastic material ready for assembly. The weight is correspondingly reduced and assembly is extremely simple. Since the looking means associated with leaf spring 8 and locking plate 9 for the sliding member 5 as well as the sliding piece 12 for unlocking lie within the projected width of the adhesive tape 2a the total width or thickness of the dispenser is kept to a minimum. The casing slot 26 located in front of the root of the hand grip in the basic (inoperative) position of the sliding piece 12 is completely free. For this reason, the adhesive tape does not have to be laboriously threaded through the device but it is inserted laterally through the casing slot 26. No additional means are required to hold the end of the tape securely in place after the cutting operation since the cutting takes place under the pressure exerted by the sliding piece 12 against the adhesive side of the tape, as a resultof which the leading edge 12a of the sliding piece comes into sticking contact with the tape and holds the latter in place.

FIGS. 1 and 4 show novel means for supporting tape roll between bearing plates 10 and 7c. The axis of the bearing is formed by a bearing pin 22, which is inserted with one end in holes in the bearing plates and bent at a right angle at the other end and bent double back upon itself to form parallel limbs 22a and 22b. The inner limb 22b is somewhat shorter than the outer limb 22a so that when the limbs are swung upwardly, the end of the inner limb 22b rides free of the upper edge of the bearing plate and the bearing pin 22 can be withdrawn from the hole in the bearings for the purpose of exchanging the tape roll 2. When bearing pin 22 is re-inserted in its holes, the double bent part is again swung downwardly into the horizontal position (in order to lock it in place). In this way the end portion of the inner limb 22b again engages the edge of the bearing plate. By virtue of the provision of an additional locking projection 23' preferably made from metal, on the inside of the bearing plate 10, the doubled bent portion of the inserted pin 22 is securely held in place and cannot be accidentally moved back into its vertical position. The double bent part of the pin can be moved past the projection 23 by virtue of the springiness of limbs 22a and 22b. In this way the use of the usual bolt and nut for holding the tape rollin place is avoided.

Since the adhesive tape can be withdrawn and severed manually, it is recommended to provide a guard next to the cutting edge of knife 4 on the side from which the tape is fed. In this way the risk of injury by the free-standing cutting edge is reduced. Such protection is provided by a protective bar 24, which is shown in broken lines in FIG. 2. As soon as the sliding member 5 has been moved upwardly in order to initate the cutting action or when the pulling direction of the tape has been changed by manually pulling out the tape, the adhesive tape 2a thrusts protective bar 24 upwardly against the action of a spring (or springs 25) so that a cutting action takes place between knife 4 and adhesive tape 2a.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a modified arrangement for locking the sliding member 5 in place. The locking member 8' is here rigidly arranged on sliding member 5 and is provided with a locking projection 8b. The locking bar 9 has a locking edge 9a and by means of a pin 28 provided at its end is pivotally supported in the wall of the casing. The blade spring 9b urges bar 9 into its basic or locking position. In order to disengage these members, an unlocking finger 12' is moved by activating release lever 13' against the upper portion of the locking bar 9'. In this way the locking bar 9 is moved in an anti-clockwise direction and the members are unlocked. The sliding member 5 under the influence of the tension in the'adhesive tape 2a snaps upwardly and the locking bar 9' is forced again by means of blade spring 9b into its basic position so that after severing the adhesive tape 2a, the sliding member 5 is again pulled into its lower position by tension spring 10 (FIG. 1) and is again locked in this position. The unlocking finger 12' is directly formed on the upper arm of the two-armed pivotally supported release lever 13' and is subject to the tension of a spring 16'. In a similar arrangement, release lever 13' could also be used for unlocking the locking means consisting of leaf spring 8 and locking bar 9 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The abutment on the casing for release level 13' is designated with reference numeral 1j.

The FIG. 7 shows modified release means in which the pivotal support for the release lever is omitted. Release lever 13" and release finger 12" are again formed in one piece. Curved release finger 12" is guided in an arched recess between similarly arched ribs 1h and 13 of the lower half 1b of the hand grip. The tension spring 16" pulls the release finger 12 into its lower position determined by abutment 12a". The locking means for the sliding member 5 are similar to those shown in FIG. 6 with the difference that the locking bar 9 is subject to the action of a compression spring 9b".

In the modification shown in FIG. 8, the release member is again in the form of a sliding piece 12", which is controlled by a release member 13" in the form of a push button having a sloping face 13a'. Contrary to the first constructional form, the sliding piece 12" has its front end 9" preferably fork-shaped and under the action of compression spring 16' is in locking engagement prefer ably with two lateral locking projections 8 on the sliding member. On activating the push button or release member 13", the sliding piece 12" is displaced rearwardly and in this way the locking engagement of the sliding piece is broken. This construction has the advantage that a member such as locking bar 9 shown in FIG. 1, is rendered unnecessary. On the other hand the dispenser has to be somewhat larger in overall width since the locking member 9" is located alongside adhesive tape 2a. When inserting the adhesive tape 2a from the side, the sliding piece 12"? is unlocked and'is moved rearwardly on activation of the release button 13".

This manner of controlling the sliding piece can also be used for unlocking the locking means shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. The compression spring 16" is replaced by a tension spring and the sloping face 13" would have to be provided on the opposite side of the push button or release member 13'".

FIG. 9 shows how in this last modification, of the locking means for the sliding memben'the release member 13"" and release finger 127" can be formed as one piece. The release finger 12"" which is under the action of compression spring 16"", as in FIG. 7, is curved and guided in a similarly shaped guide groove 1h of the lower part of hand grip 1b". The front and preferably fork-shaped end 9", of the release finger 12" co-operates with the lockin projections 8" of the sliding member 5.

We claim:

1. Hand-operated dispenser for applying adhesive tape comprising a roughly T-shaped casing, the vertical bar of the T forming a hand grip, a bearing for rotatably supporting a roll of adhesive tape arranged in the area of one face of the cross piece of the T, the other face of the T-shaped cross piece being adapted to be passed over the article to be taped, a cutting edge located in this face of the cross piece and next to this on the feed side of the tape a sliding member, which with its lower end projects beyond the casing, the tape passing around this lower end and is then pressed onto the article to be taped, means for guiding the sliding member in the casing so that it can assume two positions in such a manner that the portion of the tape lying in the cutting area in one position of the sliding member is higher than the cutting edge, means for locking the sliding member in its lower position, manually operated release means for unlocking the sliding member, an open slot in the side of the easing and located between the root of hand grip and the sliding member in such a manner that at least in one of its two end positions the sliding member is located outside of the casing slot and the tape can be threaded in.

2. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 1 comprising a first locking member arranged on the sliding member co-operating with a second locking member arranged independently of the sliding member on the casing, one locking member at least being adapted to be displaced by release means movably supported in the hand P- 3. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the sliding member on the side facing the tape is provided with a locking piece which co-operates with a locking bar arranged on the side wall of the casing.

4. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 3 wherein the locking bar is fixedly supported on the casing, while the locking piece of the sliding member is adapted to be forced outwardly into its locked position under the action of a spring and is displaceable in the projected path of the tape under the action of an unlocking finger.

5. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 3 wherein the sliding member is provided with a rigid locking-piece while the locking bar is pivotally supported on thecasing and. biased towards its locked position under spring action of-first spring means. v ,6. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 3 whereinthe locking piece of the sliding member is in the form of a'leaf spring, the lower end portion of which issecmed to. the sliding member while the upper end forms thelocking edge adapted to co-operate with the fixed locking bar on the casing. I

7. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 2 wherein the sliding member on its side facing the tape is provided with at least one locking piece which is adapted to be acted upon by an unlocking finger located in the hand grip, and displaceable transversely to the path of the tape.

i 8. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 7 wherein the unlocking finger is in the form of a sliding piece which is pulled by the action of a second spring into its inoperative position. i

9. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 8 comprising release means in the form of a two-armed lever pivotally supported in.v the hand grip, the lower arm of the lever serving for manual activation whilst its upper arm co-operates and moves together with the sliding piece.

10. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 8 comprisingrelease means in the form of a push button which can be displaced transversely to the longitudinal axis of the hand grip and which acts with a sloping surface on the sliding piece.

11. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 2 wherein the release means is in the form of a curved sliding piece and is provided with a manually operated release member projecting outside of the hand grip.

12. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 2 comprising manually operated release means in the form of two-armed levers, pivotally mounted on the hand grip and having an upper and a lower lever arm, the end of the upper lever arm pointing towards the tape path, while the lower lever arm projects outside the hand grip.

13. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the sliding member is arranged to move at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the hand grip in such a manner that its direction of movement includes an acute angle with the longitudinal axis of the hand grip.

14. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the sliding member is in the form of a hollow body and has a rotatable roll supported between integral bearing cars at its lower end and is guided by means of grooves between the side walls of the casing and urged into its lower position by means of aspring. V V

15. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the main body of the casing including half the lengthof the hand grip, and a plate for supporting the roll of adhesive tape are formed in one piece from injec tion moulded thermo-plastic material and two cover plates for the casing and hand grip have roughly the same surface area and are also made from thermo-plastic material, between which cover plates in the area of the root of the hand grip is located the open slot for introduction of the tape.

16. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 15 wherein the two cover plates in the area of the rootof the hand grip are connected with one another by means of an easily releasable pawl member which'is pivotally mounted on one of the cover plates and adapted to engage a projection on the other cover plate. 1

17. Hand-operated dispenser according vto claim 16 wherein the said projection which is engaged by said pawl is formed by a reduced end ofmetallic locking-bar which projects through a recess in the cover plate.

18. Hand-operated device according to claim 16 where in the main body of the casing is reinforced at the root portion of the lower half of the hand grip by means of la Z-shaped angular metallic element.

19. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the axis for rotatably supporting the roll of adhesive tape between two bearing plates is in the form of an inserted pin, one end of which is bent at right angles and then doubled back to form a U-shaped piece with the inner limb of the ,U being shorter.

20. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 1 comprising a braking spring which is fixed at one end and bears tangentially against the adhesive tape roll.

21. Hand-operated dispenser according to claim 1 comprising a protective bar for the cutting knife which is displaceably mounted and forced by means of a spring into a lower position and automatically displaced in an upward direction as a result of a change in the path of the tape on initiating the cutting action.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,582,438 /1971 Harbour 156,414 3,677,865 7/1972 Wagner 1 S6- f577.

EDWARD G. WHITBY, Primary Examiner; i

' U.S.Cl.X.R.

lief- "543,577 

